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An EasyJet aircraft - Source: Reuters -
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Andy Harrison will quit as chief executive of easyJet at the end of June, becoming the latest senior manager to leave the low-cost carrier in the wake of a boardroom battle with founder Stelios Haji-Iannou.
"Five of easyJet's eight most senior executives have now left over the past 12 months," Douglas McNeill, equity analyst at Astaire Securities, said.
"It is hard not to see Stelios's campaign against the expansion strategy as having been a factor."
Harrison and other easyJet board members have clashed with Stelios, whose family owns 38% of the company, on numerous occasions over the last year about the airline's strategy.
Stelios repeatedly said Harrison was ordering too many planes
and that the airline should be more conservative in its plans for
expansion at a time of low demand for air travel.
The global recession has battered the airline industry as consumers
cut back on trips, but budget carriers have weathered the storm
better than their full-service peers as business travellers
trade-down to low-cost rivals.
Shares in easyJet, which have risen a third in 2009, were 3.48% lower at 364.86 pence at 1057 GMT (11:57pm Wednesday NZT), valuing the business at around 1.6 billion pounds ($NZ3.6 billion).
The Luton-based airline, which has 109 Airbus aircraft on order for delivery over the next three years, will face large penalty fees if it cancels orders but can defer deliveries for up to two years if it gives sufficient notice.
Colin Chandler, the chairman, and Jeff Carr, the finance director, and two other senior executives also quit the budget airline in the last year.
EasyJet said in a statement on Wednesday that Harrison would leave on June 30 to "to seek new challenges", adding that he had agreed in May to stay at least until the end of March following the departure of other senior managers.
"It looks as though Harrison threatened to go in May, when that (Stelios') campaign was in full flow, but was persuaded to stay his hand," said McNeill.
Harrison, 52, became easyJet's chief executive in December 2005 after a successful stint as chief executive of RAC before its acquisition by Aviva in 2005.
Before that Harrison was chief executive of automotive distribution firm Lex Service, which acquired RAC in 2002, transforming it into a breakdown and vehicle recovery group with over six million members.
The airline also said that deputy chairman Michael Rake would take over as chairman from January 1, replacing David Michels who has been serving as interim chairman since Chandler quit.
"EasyJet is a great company with a strong management team and I am sure under Mike's chairmanship, easyJet will continue to grow from strength to strength. I am looking forward to being part of the process of selecting my successor and am committed to ensuring a smooth transition," said Harrison.
EasyJet, which last week reported growing passenger numbers, is already eyeing potential replacements.
"It's a very fresh decision and we didn't know that (Harrison
would leave) at the time of the full-year results (on November 17)
when we discussed how we would move forward next year and so the
recruitment process is starting now," an easyJet spokesman
said.
